Wah pedal follow up

[BloodRose]

A few months back, I posted my frustration with my Wah. I used to use a Bad Horsey but could never get the typical wah sounds from it, so I bought a Vox wah. Ive still never been happy with that one. Now I KNOW, that most of the problem is operator error. I know little about using a wah properly and my playing is so so. But it just didnt seem to give me much range. I posted on the forum and was told to turn the pot inside some. So, I experimented with some settings and found one that gives me a good fat low and nice transition to highs. So, Im MUCH happier and thank you for suggesting I move the pot!

I do notice that the wah sounds VERY bland with the tone control on the guitar rolled off. And the higher I set the tone control, the bigger difference I can hear. Is this normal?
Thanks for the info!

 

[Bludave]

Re: Wah pedal follow up

Personally I think Wahs sound best clean.... Not saying that you can't use them with drive, but they have the largest amount of sweep when clean. When you add gain, a lot of your highs are gone & this tends to kill some of the wahs capability in doing what it was meant to do. The tone control on your guitar should affect it in some way but not a massive amount. Noticeable yes, but it shouldn't make any more difference then what your tone control normally does. If you roll the tone all the way off, well it stands to reason you will kill some of the highs that are naturally there. So what some will tell you you can mod these with a Fassell inductor and some chip & resistor changes, but Honestly I think you are approaching it the right way. Learn how to use it, then you can adjust what you want/need out of the pedal. I now have 5 Wahs. Two are Thomas Organ Company wahs from the late 60's. Both have been modded by John Spina and I love them. I also have a Vox 847 & a Vox Clyde McCoy. I just recently bought another 847 that I sent to my buddy's boy. He is enjoying it now! My favorite wah is a TOC wah that has a pot that John added on the side so you can adjust the amount of gain the wah has. I should say that I like my older one a bit more, but that pedal is pretty worn out(or in depending on how you look at it) That pedal does everything I want it do do, but I am trying to NOT have to rebuild it again. Its been modded, repaired, rebuilt & then some over the years so basically I have retired it. The new one with the pot is more reliable & the sound is really really good.

 

[playas]

Re: Wah pedal follow up

Basically a wah is a filter, so if you have the tone rolled off all the way you´re filtering a filtered signal again which is probably why you think it sounds bland.

Ever tried tone swells on your guitar?

 

[hermetico]

Re: Wah pedal follow up

A few months back, I posted my frustration with my Wah. I used to use a Bad Horsey but could never get the typical wah sounds from it, so I bought a Vox wah. Ive still never been happy with that one. Now I KNOW, that most of the problem is operator error. I know little about using a wah properly and my playing is so so. But it just didnt seem to give me much range. I posted on the forum and was told to turn the pot inside some. So, I experimented with some settings and found one that gives me a good fat low and nice transition to highs. So, Im MUCH happier and thank you for suggesting I move the pot!

I do notice that the wah sounds VERY bland with the tone control on the guitar rolled off. And the higher I set the tone control, the bigger difference I can hear. Is this normal?
Thanks for the info!

go for one of the Real McCoy's Wah's.
to me, the Real McCoy RMC4 Picture Wah is THE wah

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Wah pedal follow up

Personally I think Wahs sound best clean.... Not saying that you can't use them with drive, but they have the largest amount of sweep when clean. When you add gain, a lot of your highs are gone & this tends to kill some of the wahs capability in doing what it was meant to do. The tone control on your guitar should affect it in some way but not a massive amount. Noticeable yes, but it shouldn't make any more difference then what your tone control normally does. If you roll the tone all the way off, well it stands to reason you will kill some of the highs that are naturally there. So what some will tell you you can mod these with a Fassell inductor and some chip & resistor changes, but Honestly I think you are approaching it the right way. Learn how to use it, then you can adjust what you want/need out of the pedal. I now have 5 Wahs. Two are Thomas Organ Company wahs from the late 60's. Both have been modded by John Spina and I love them. I also have a Vox 847 & a Vox Clyde McCoy. I just recently bought another 847 that I sent to my buddy's boy. He is enjoying it now! My favorite wah is a TOC wah that has a pot that John added on the side so you can adjust the amount of gain the wah has. I should say that I like my older one a bit more, but that pedal is pretty worn out(or in depending on how you look at it) That pedal does everything I want it do do, but I am trying to NOT have to rebuild it again. Its been modded, repaired, rebuilt & then some over the years so basically I have retired it. The new one with the pot is more reliable & the sound is really really good.

Thanks for the info! Yeah, John did a DS1 for me that I absolutely LOVE! But he is not doing pedals any more.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Wah pedal follow up

The Bad Horsey doesn't sound like a typical wah because it's not a typical wah.

The Vox (I assume is a "reissue" of some sort is only Vox in name and appearance...Vox doesn't make a wah that sounds like a Clyde and hasn't since the original Clydes...the V846HW is a good sounding wah but not a Clyde tone.

If you want a Clyde tone you're best bet and best bargain right now is a Wilson Signature wah drop in kit form Wilson Effects or just sell the Vox and buy a Wilson signature. My next fav for that sound is an RMC4 Picture Wah but mine was a lot of trouble so I sold it and never looked back.

The older Fulltone Clyde wahs sound good but the wider sweep messes with the tone IMO and they don't feel like a typical wah under your foot however they do sound good and are a bargain on the used market.

However before I bought a Fulltone I'd hunt down an early 70's Jen built Crybaby and spend the money to get it running right (new pot, maybe a new switch etc...). No, they don't sound like Clydes but damn they sound good!

 

[hermetico]

Re: Wah pedal follow up

If you want a Clyde tone you're best bet and best bargain right now is a Wilson Signature wah drop in kit form Wilson Effects or just sell the Vox and buy a Wilson signature. My next fav for that sound is an RMC4 Picture Wah but mine was a lot of trouble so I sold it and never looked back.

Nice to know threre is some alternative to the RMC4. Thanks.

 

[guitarded]

Re: Wah pedal follow up

A few months back, I posted my frustration with my Wah. I used to use a Bad Horsey but could never get the typical wah sounds from it, so I bought a Vox wah. Ive still never been happy with that one. Now I KNOW, that most of the problem is operator error. I know little about using a wah properly and my playing is so so. But it just didnt seem to give me much range. I posted on the forum and was told to turn the pot inside some. So, I experimented with some settings and found one that gives me a good fat low and nice transition to highs. So, Im MUCH happier and thank you for suggesting I move the pot!

I do notice that the wah sounds VERY bland with the tone control on the guitar rolled off. And the higher I set the tone control, the bigger difference I can hear. Is this normal?
Thanks for the info!

Perhaps, try the Morley Tremonti sig wah. It's got a boost with a bump in the mid range that will make the wah more pronounced when you play an overdriven or distorted solo. Tradeoff is it sounds not that great clean. Clean it's way too much.

 

[Archer_of_Fish]

Re: Wah pedal follow up

I use an old Fulltone Clyde, one of the white ones, and am very happy. They go lower and higher than the original Clydes, which is something I like a lot.

 

[Bludave]

Re: Wah pedal follow up

Thanks for the info! Yeah, John did a DS1 for me that I absolutely LOVE! But he is not doing pedals any more.

Yeah I know. He told me a while ago. I was looking to mod a TS9 again & he said he didn't have the parts. Its cool though. I got some killer stuff!

 

[Bludave]

Re: Wah pedal follow up

The other guitar player in my band has a Clyde. Not sure which one. It's black. Sounds really good, but on the board that I use with these guys I have a Vox Clyde McCoy & it sounds really full & rich.